ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, a BBC investigative journalist focused on Kremlin affairs reported that the missing 'Crypto Queen' Ruja Ignatova may be hiding in Russia to evade criminal charges. Yoran Tsalov, who also works for Bellingcat, revealed to the media that Ignatova 'has connections with several individuals and interest groups in the Kremlin.'
Tsalov claims that these connections were confirmed during an interview with Ignatova's former security advisor Frank Schneider, which is part of the BBC's 'Missing Crypto Queen' investigation and podcast series. Schneider was a spy in Switzerland and later founded a private investigation company, and was employed by OneCoin. He was placed under house arrest in France due to his connections with the operation and later went on the run starting in 2023. Additionally, Tsalov claims that the ongoing investigation by the BBC confirms that some companies laundering money through OneCoin have ties to former pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, who is currently living in exile in Russia.
It is reported that OneCoin was launched in 2014, and Ignatova defrauded investors worldwide out of $4 billion in a Ponzi scheme until she disappeared in 2017 when the scheme collapsed. Her last appearance was in 2017 when she was on a flight fleeing Bulgaria for Athens, Greece, and she was listed as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.